GAVA seeks to reduce the negative impacts of systemic health inequities in the following three ways: We organize and mobilize community power to reduce barriers to health while increasing institutional capacity to respond to the people most impacted by historic inequities. We believe in the right to self-determination and the priorities we champion are always informed by the voices, perspectives, and lived experiences of those living in the neighborhoods we serve. "I feel like my hands are tied – I have the training, the skill, the experience, even the facilities to provide the care, and I'm unable to provide that care and it's – it's gut wrenching," Karsan testified.Building community power for health equityĮverything we do at GAVA is community-driven and resident-led. She described the case of a patient whose fetus had a fatal condition who had to drive 14 hours to get an abortion out of state. Damla Karsan, one of the physician plaintiffs in the lawsuit. The final witness who testified Wednesday was Dr. Abortion bans in Texas carry civil and criminal penalties - up to life in prison - for doctors. In the document, the state argued that the women's past harm is the fault of the their doctors and their future harm - such as damage to their reproductive health - is hypothetical.ĭuane countered: "Does the state think that the only person who would have standing to challenge an abortion law is a woman who comes to court with amniotic fluid or blood dripping down her leg?"ĭuring her cross-examinations, Pletscher repeatedly asked the witnesses for the names of their doctors.
Molly Duane, the attorney for the Center for Reproductive Rights, attacked the defendant's arguments, laid out in a court filing in June, that none of the patient plaintiffs have the right to sue the state - the legal concept known as standing. Pletscher also asked each patient witness if Attorney General Ken Paxton had personally denied them an abortion. She argued that it was not relevant to discuss past medical history, but the judge allowed the testimony to continue. Ashley Brandt, Elizabeth Weller and Lauren Miller stand behind her.Īssistant Attorney General Amy Pletscher, representing Paxton's office, objected frequently as the women described their experiences with pregnancy complications that were left untreated in Texas. The court was adjourned for a recess at that point.Īmanda Zurawski speaks during a press conference outside the Travis County Courthouse on July 19, 2023. Casiano, who first told her story to NPR in April, was so overcome as she described her experiences she cried, coughed, and gagged in the witness box.
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Paxton, currently suspended, faces an impeachment trial in September over allegations of bribery and abuse of power.ĭuring hours of emotional testimony, the courtroom felt tense and quiet.
Judge Jessica Mangrum, elected as a Democratic judicial candidate in 2020, presided. On the other side of the room, two attorneys represented defendant Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. Members of the anti-abortion rights group Texas Alliance for Life were also in attendance.Įight attorneys represented the patients and doctors challenging the law. The benches in the roomy, brand new courtroom at the Travis County Civil District Court were filled with reporters, plaintiffs, and their supporters, including several husbands. State Attorney General Ken Paxton's office is asking for the case to be dismissed. In Wednesday's proceeding, which will continue on Thursday, lawyers for Casiano and the other plaintiffs asked the judge to temporarily suspend the bans for people who have medical complications in their pregnancies as the case proceeds. The case is thought to be the first time the experiences of women have been heard in open court since the Supreme Court ended the constitutional right to abortion last June.
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